The invention provides a connector for detachably connecting a shaft to an implement. It is particularly suitable for use in connecting an elongate handle to a cleaning implement, such as a floor mop, but it is also capable of many other similar applications.
It is often desirable that a connector for connecting a handle to an implement should be detachable. Not only can this facilitate packaging and storage but it enables a supplier to keep a stock of similar handles which may be supplied for use with a variety of different implements, according to demand. Also, a user may then require only a single handle which may be used interchangeably with a whole range of different implements. Detachable connectors often therefore comprise two engageable components, one component for mounting on a handle and the other for mounting on the implement.
In one common form of connector the component for mounting on the handle comprises an externally threaded spigot which may be screwed into an internally threaded socket on a second component for mounting on the implement. For cheapness and ease of manufacture the components are often formed from plastics.
While such connectors are very suitable for implements which have only comparatively light use, it is sometimes found, particularly with cleaning implements which undergo heavy industrial use, that the connectors can fail. With time the engagement between the threaded spigot and the socket may loosen, or the weight of the implement, or the heavy use to which it is subjected, may result in the threaded spigot bending or even snapping. This may be particularly liable to occur if the handle is to be used interchangeably with a whole range of implements, since the repeated connection and disconnecting can cause rapid failure of conventional screwed connectors. The present invention sets out to provide an improved form of connector which may be stronger and less liable to failure in use.